Hey all,lately it seems like I'm progressing in my journey of lucid dreaming and I'm right now I'm feeling so giddy about it that I want to scream it out into the world.I don't know if it is a common thing in this forum to start a thread just to document ones own lucid dreaming progress. I'd like to start something like that because I think it helps me (maybe) to stay on track. Also I'd like to gather input from other people in order to progress even more.I will add some posts in the next time and fill this thread. Feel free to comment whatever you want to comment!Until then - take care!

Last edited by LucidCat on 03 Feb 2018 20:06, edited 2 times in total.

I had it about a month after I started researching lucid dreaming. I had started dream journalling, meditating and reality checking (but not very frequently to be honest). I had seen a video where someone explained a technique which includes staring at an object 5 minutes before bedtime - an object which should represent lucid dreaming and which is supposed to appear in a dream sooner or later. So I did that for a week with a vitreous cat figure I call the "Lucid Cat" (to be seen in my profile pic) - and the following thing happened:

It was the night from Friday to Saturday. I went to bed quite late and slept for about 6 hours - when I woke up I remembered some dreams more or less vividly, and wrote them down. Then I went back to sleep again, as I was still quite tired. I had a dream - I was in the bathroom, which looked a lot like it does in real life. On the tiny shelf I saw the Lucid Cat - my first thought was: "What the hell is it doing here? I don't remember putting it in the bathroom." And then: "Oh, it's the LUCID cat... I should maybe check if I'm dreaming" whereupon I tried to push two fingers through my palm and my complete hand went through. At the moment I realized I'm dreaming the dream went blurry and I woke up.

Second Lucid Dream on January 11, 2018Prior to this I'd had some troubles with dream recall, even though I was trying really hard. Also I had neglected my other routines. So it kind of came unexpectedly.

It was a Thursday morning and I could sleep a little longer than on other workdays. I had just woken up from a dream that I didn't really remember well and made a short note into my dream journal. Then I was just lying in bed because I wanted to sleep a little more and my first WILD happened without me even intending it.My body got very heavy and relaxed and I slipped into sleep paralysis - I was accepting it in the moment, I was quite calmly obeserving what was happening. I saw the most colorful hypnogogia I'd ever seen, then I heard a swooshing noise in my ears and got a prickling feeling all over my skin. A split second later I was pulled into a dream scene. I found myself standing in front of the house where I live. Everything was crystal clear and I still knew that seconds before I'd been falling asleep - so I knew I was dreaming. I tried to make myself do something but I had no control over my body. A dream character appeared - it was Dustin, from Stranger Things. I thought - yep, I'm totally dreaming. Dustin went into the house and my dream body followed him into the hallway, where it was very dark. I still couldn't control what I was doing... and while feeling frustrated about this I fell into unawareness.

I guess I continued dreaming something because I didn't wake up immediately. Though - as soon as I was awake I felt pretty stoked about it

Third Lucid Dream on January 29, 2018That weekend I had a very exhausting seminar and when I came back home on Sunday evening I went to sleep way earlier than I usually would. Which means I slept a lot. At some point in the night I woke up and scribbled the dream I just had into my journal. Then I fell asleep again and started dreaming.

I was standing in my bedroom, which looked very much like it does in real life. I saw a book with tales by Michael Ende on the couch table and found that pretty weird, because I didn't remember putting it there. I picked it up, opened it, and I read for a second: "You are dreaming" and at the same time I think I heard a voice saying it as well. I almost immediately fell into unawareness again and kept sleeping for many hours

In the morning I first didn't remember anything anymore. Then - in a random moment - I remembered. To me it almost seems like a miracle I recalled it - isn't it a fact that you have to wake up immediately after having a specific dream in order to remember it?

4th Lucid Dream on February 3, 2018This one is the reason why I'm feeling so giddy and exhilarated right now.

Today I woke up after having plenty of sleep and I wrote down my dream memories of the night. As it was still early I made a low-pressure decision to attempt WBTB and laid down again.

PreparationsI focused on relaxing all muscle group first, which worked pretty well this time. Then I started falling asleep and saw these random dream scenes building up but before it was too late I managed to bring my awareness back. That happened several times back and forth... first almost falling into an unaware dream and bringing myself back again. I started using mantras that I've heard of like "I am dreaming", "The next scene I will see is a dream". At the same time I kept focusing on hypnogogia which immediately transformed itself into regular patterns (this time for instance tiny green and red dots on a black ground) I knew it was working... then the swooshing sound and the prickling feeling on my skin happened again (basically it feels like being dipped into foam ) and got pulled into the dream.

The Lucid DreamI find myself standing in the blue arced doorway of a house and I take a step inside. I am aware that I'm dreaming and I can control my movements - but everything looks blurry. I immediately remember the trick and rub my hands together. Everything gets so incredibly clear and sharp. I look around feeling amazed. I'm standing in the hallway of the house and the layout reminds me much of my workplace. The interior is very different though. I encounter a dream character, a blonde young boy which could be representing a patient I have. But I kinda push him away from me because at the moment i'm thinking: "This is a dream, not work. I don't have to do therapy - because now I can do whatever shit I want."

Then I start walking upstairs and I reach kind a platform or porch roof on the outside. It looks kinda messy and run down but also inviting to explore... there are some other DC's hanging and walking around there. I ignore them and enjoy the magnificent view. The house is placed in a sandy desert landscape but nearby there is a very bizarre looking city with houses that look like made of wire and other random materials. The sky is hazy and has a blueish/purplish tint.

A thought crosses my mind "So, I should be able to fly now". I am not really convinced though that it would work. But I try anyway and I jump from the platform. Nope, flying doesn't work yet but I discover I can slow myself down when falling - I'm sailing down elegantly. My next thought is: "If I can control my falling I can also control my jumping" and I jump slowly and elegantly back onto the platform.

There I see a door leading into the house and I enter it. The hallway behind it is dark but I can see light shining through another door and I go in there. It is a big bathroom. For some stupid unknown reason I start feeling horny and certain possibilities cross my mind but it seems like I can't control the dream that much yet. Then I wake up. (Well at least I thought so.)

The False AwakeningI am bed again, seemingly awake. I even do a reality check (trying to push my fingers through my hand) which is negative, but I forget to do a second one in order to make sure. I am completely not surprised that the shelf next to bed now contains a tiny fish tank with plastic fish in it. Well, one fish is actually alive and I'm wondering how he could have survived all the time because I don't remember ever feeding it. Also, there's a behind glass painting of mermaids nearby which I think I have purchased on e-bay long ago from an emo girl. It's totally not suspicious to me that the painting is animated, that the characters in it can move. ...

Yes, I was completely convinced of being awake. And I tried to fall asleep again because I wanted to continue lucid dreaming. I didn't work of course. And then finally I woke up for real.

Today I almost had a lucid dream. I woke up in the morning and made a WILD attempt - which initially seemed to work. I got the sleep paralysis, hypnogogia patterns, swooshing sounds... and I thought "Yay, it's working again"However, while being pulled into the dream scene I immediately lost awareness. Ironically, in the dream I was running around being pissed off that the attempt of lucid dreaming didn't work.

What made you pick LucidCat as the lucid dream object? Do you often dream about cats? Just curious.

"Empty cognizance of one taste, suffused with knowing, is your unmistaken nature, the uncontrived original state. when not altering what is, allow it to be as it is, and the awakened state is right now spontaneously present."

Summerlander wrote:What made you pick LucidCat as the lucid dream object? Do you often dream about cats? Just curious.

Actually that choice was kind of random. I picked that cat figure because of the colorful swirls that are visible inside of the glass - they kind of remind me of hypnogogia. It doesn't really matter what it is at all - what matters to me is that I can associate it with lucid dreaming. Staring at it every night while thinking about lucid dreaming, plus naming it 'LucidCat' just reinforces that connection. As a recurring part of my bedtime routine it might appear in my dreams, remind me that lucid dreaming exists and that I should do a reality check. So far the theory. It only worked once so far.But I keep doing it as a bedtime ritual as it calms me down and I can get easier into meditation or sleep. (I couldn't really tell you where I got this from - some youtube video that I don't recall)Now that I think of it: I could also use affirmations like: "I'm gonna see LucidCat in a dream" "When I see LucidCat I have to do a reality check"... or do a reality check in real life when I see the cat. I think I'll experiment with that.

Reading this makes me want to try WBTB. I read that pushing your finger through your hand isn't a sure-fire way to RC because it relies on expectation. That is why I hold my nostrils and try to breath, because you aren't going to stop breathing. I don't know this from experience but it seems logical to me.I hope I get to the point that I LD as often as you!

nacht wrote:Reading this makes me want to try WBTB. I read that pushing your finger through your hand isn't a sure-fire way to RC because it relies on expectation. That is why I hold my nostrils and try to breath, because you aren't going to stop breathing. I don't know this from experience but it seems logical to me.I hope I get to the point that I LD as often as you!

It is logical - that's why I normally do the palm check and the nose pinch (and a bunch of other RCs) in a row in order to make sure (that's at least how I practise it in waking life) + asking myself questions like: "Where am I?" "How did I get here?" "What did I do in the past 10 minutes?" "Who are these people?". But I'm a lousy reality checker, I need to do them more regularly and generally develop a habit of questioning reality.

I have already had some meditation experience before I started getting into this - which is probably the reason why WBTB + WILD attempt seem to be more effective for me. I don't know yet if I can repeat my latest success... maybe I was just lucky.

It may be helpful for you to try WBTB on the weekend, when you can basically sleep as long as you want and you don't have to think about going to work soon.